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In 2018 the Internet of Things market in Italy achieved a turnover of €5 billion, a 35% increase on 2017, fuelled by both the more consolidated applications that use “traditional” cellular connectivity (+27%) and by those that use other communication technologies (+47%).

Mobile Payment & Commerce continues to drive New Digital Payments, which by now are worth €80 billion overall. New innovations are emerging in the area of digital payments which will give rise to new services and to the transformation of the user experience for consumers in stores.

During 2018 the Smart Home market in Italy reached a value of €380 million, registering extremely high growth (+52% compared to 2017) in the wake of smart home speakers, which were finally launched on the Italian market.

The growth of eCommerce B2c in Italy continues: the value of online purchases in 2018 exceeds 27.4 billion euros, with a 16% increase compared to 2017. In absolute value the market is worth 3.8 billion euros, the highest ever. In a context where eCommerce is increasingly relevant and the range of action is less restricted, doubts and questions on the business sustainability arise with increasing force. The most relevant: the market increases, but does the value for companies that have accepted this challenge grow accordingly? And for the Country system?

2017 has been a very good year for the Internet of Things (IoT), both in Italy and at international level. We are increasingly convinced that what was the potentiality of this fascinating paradigm has now been transformed into essential elements that cannot be ignored by any players, in every sector.

Social Sustainability has been a priority for some years now, not just for governments in developed countries, but also for companies operating in those countries. In the Online Gaming sector, this concept is reflected in a vast array of policies and procedures, including as part of the Responsible Gaming programs. In contrast to illegal gaming, safeguarding players from fraud and problematic gaming and the prevention of underage Gaming are the cornerstones of the regulated Italian framework, which, together with digitalisation, the enhancement of broadband connections and the growth in the number of smartphones, have influenced consumer behaviour and shaped the evolution of the sector.

2017 saw increasing curiosity and interest among Italians in Mobile Payment & Commerce. Mobile Proximity Payment started to become a reality due to investments made in advertising, and to the entry into the Italian market of some big international players. Mobile Commerce is taking an ever-increasing share of the online purchasing pie.

The time has come to go beyond single project “silos”-type digitalisation, or single company, “monad”-type, digitalisation, to concentrate on a truly integrated digital ecosystem, “Digital B2B”, laying sound foundations for digital transformation within Italy.

B2C E-commerce is progressively becoming more relevant and, across the world, its scope has gradually become less restricted or confined. This is increasingly the case in the Italian market, even though B2C e-commerce in this country has yet to reach a level of maturity that exists in other more developed markets abroad.
In 2017, the Italian e-commerce demand grew by 17%, the number of web shoppers went up by 10% and its share of overall retail purchases now stands at 5.7%.

Food is at the top of the list in every shopping basket in Italy, but e-commerce has yet to take off in this sector. In 2017, the online Food & Grocery market was worth 812 million euros (up by 37%), a measly 0.5% of overall retail purchases in the sector.

The time has come to go beyond the current level of connection of objects, to shift the attention to the services they enable. To do so it is necessary to know how to identify the right strategies to valorise the data collected by the connected objects, which withholds huge potential, still largely unexplored.

There is growing interest at global level towards Mobile Payment & Commerce: Mobile Remote Commerce is by now consolidated but Mobile Proximity Payment has yet to prove its potential. “New” Digital Payments in Italy keep growing, and in 2016 have demonstrated they can be the engine that brings Italians closer to electronic payments, replacing cash.

Opposing unlawful gaming, offer extension, taxation based on expenditure and rules to safeguard players have all led to the recovery of most of the unofficial ‘activity’ with a consequent increase of gaming flows in the Italian legitimate circuit. With the advancements of the regulatory and gaming framework the sector’s attractiveness has increased and over recent years there have been two major developments: Italian players have returned to the legitimate circuit and the entry in the Italian market of big international operators that have brought their base of Italian clients with them.